HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Two Hillsborough County deputies who were rammed in an “intentional” attack this month in Brandon were presented with $20,000 each after donations from the community.
Sheriff Chad Chronister presented the checks to Cpl. Carlos Brito and Deputy Manuel Santos.
“Everybody talks about the community helping and being involved and loving the sheriff’s office, but it’s not until it happens to you that you actually feel the full force of the community,” Brito said in a video provided by the sheriff’s office.
“Their medical expenses are covered, this is in the line of duty, but all these other expenses, and loss of income that them, along with their wives, will experience as they help them thorough this long road to recovery, that’s why this money and this financial assistance is so important,” Chronister said.
The sheriff’s office said Ralph Bouzy, 28, drove his vehicle into Brito and Santos while they responded to a mental health crisis call in Brandon.
Both suffered serious injuries.
Bouzy was a suspect in a hit-and-run in 2017 and punched a deputy in the face. In the back of that patrol car, he stated that he “hated law enforcement and that he was going to kill a deputy sheriff.”
A fundraiser through the Lynn Sowers Memorial Foundation has been set up for the deputies and their health expenses. To learn more, click here.
